How successful was Mao in consolidating Power? A comparison with Hitler.

​As you know, you may be called on to compare Hitler with Mao in a Paper 2 essay question. You therefore need to identify some key aspects of Mao's policies (in this case the consolidation of power) in order to be able to structure this comparison.

For those students who have not studied Mao in depth for IGCSE, you should make a special effort here to ensure that you use the textbook in depth.

The best essays will compare the two men using thematic analysis - i.e. how similar/different were their various strategies and to what extent were they successful. You will find that they emphasised different aspects.

This presentation will structure the lesson, but also encourages you to think about what these generic themes could be to help you structure your analysis. We have two lessons available to build this comparison.

​a) Start by watching this clip from about 9 minutes (the first 9 mins are about his rise to power)- keep a rough timeline of the key events - this can be used later.b) Now use p.g. 127-145 to complete the grid. You must work as a team:i) Skim read strategy. Remember your purpose - to get a range of usable examples and thesis statements - you are not aiming to get to know the History in as much depth as Hitler.ii) Develop your t/line as you go so you get the overview of events.iii) Focus on your category only.

c) Click here for more focus on the treatment of opposition - you will need to get your performance brain in gear!

3. Extension / Homework

Complete one or both of these worksheets - this is a pretty good university preparation experience as they are real (if short) university lectures.

Similar to last lesson, you will share and reflect on the last paragraph in the reading.Resources: Textbook page​

How successful was Mao's domestic policy? Comparison to Hitler

Remember as you complete this task that we need to be conscious of how the IB wants us to approach this theme. They may examine it in several ways:

Evaluate the success of the social and economic policies of two leaders of authoritarian or single party states. (General comparative questions, set a success criteria in order to judge success)Compare and contrast the policies towards women of two leaders of authoritarian or single party states, each chosen from a different region.(Note regional requirement, focus on finding similarities and differences and the focus on only one issue)

"Successful domestic policies were the most significant reason why single party leaders or authoritarian leaders were able to maintain and establish their power". To what extent do you agree with this statement? Answer with reference to two leaders, each chosen from different regions. (Note the use of domestic policy in a question that is really asking about consolidation of power. Expectation here is to challenge the question).

Your job for the next two lessons then is to investigate Mao's domestic policy with these themes in mind.

i) You should consolidate your knowledge by completing the domestic policies section of your consolidation of power grid. YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR SOME TIME, SO YOU SHOULD NOT NEED THIS BLANK ONE.

ii) You should now complete this Domestic Policies Grid. YOU COMPLETED HALF OF THIS WHEN WE DID HITLER - WORK ON YOUR EXISTING GRID.

YOU NEED TO REVIEW THE SHARED LEARNING FOR HOMEWORK - THERE WILL BE A FACT TEST IN THE FOLLOWING LESSON

Paper 2: Essay Writing Skills

By now, we have had plenty of essay writing skills and feedback activities. Today, we are going to use authentic student responses graded by the Chief Examiner. These resources are rare and the IB do not distribute them freely on the basis that they do not want to create 'models' for students to slavishly follow - this tends to lead to generic essay writing that does not acknowledge the unique focus of each question. However, with this in mind, there is still a lot that can be learnt from these few examples about what makes an effective essay and what does not.STEP 1: The question (set in Nov 2015)

"ASSESS THE IMPORTANCE OF FORCE AND ECONOMIC POLICIES IN THE MAINTENANCE OF POWER OF ONE AUTHORITARIAN OR SINGLE-PARTY LEADER."

Analyse the question / briefly plan what you would expect to see and why. For Hitler. You can use the TACKLED FRAME.

Now download this marking summary to help you - glance through it, not forgetting to look at the level descriptors.

STEP 3: Mark and annotate :- Accurate facts? Highlight good ones that prove something/support their explanations.- Thematic structure?- CLA? Present and clear?- Analysis or descriptive (Link back to Q mini conclusions and connections between themes? Argument in intro / conc, argument throughout?)- Evaluation of themes/arguments/ideas?Insert annotations where the examiner has - can you decipher the codes?

STEP 4:A better example of the same question but answered for Stalin. Go through the same process, with the assumption that the facts are accurate